HYLA Blog

It's Time to See the Value of Mobile Trade-in Programs

In tracking trends for selling used mobile phones we found that the Australian market and U.S. market are a lot like consumers in the rest of the world. In its most recent mobile consumer survey of Australians, Deloitte found that 48% of those with smartphones held onto them after purchasing new ones.

That statistic aligns with other countries with high smartphone ownership. By and large, the majority of consumers in those countries have yet to take advantage of mobile device trade-in programs. They don’t know what they’re missing. Mobile trade in programs provide more money to spend on new smartphones or related merchandise plus a chance to help those in countries where new sellphones are scarcely available.

Deloitte's Findings

According to Deloitte, Australians keep their old phones for rainy days or a quick temporary fix, not realizing they are sitting on millions of dollars worth of technology. Nearly 50% of those surveyed admitted to tucking away their old phones in a drawer, confirming that storage place isn’t only a nifty metaphor for blog posts about mobile trade-in programs.

Aside from the 48% that kept their phones, 27% of Australians gave them away, 15% recycled them, 8% sold them and 2% lost them. U.S. consumers similarly view old smartphones as possessions, keeping them close to home instead of using them to their financial advantage. A survey of U.S. mobile phone owners found that nearly 60% of them don’t seek money for their devices, with 37% of them keeping them as spares.

Deloitte surveys of other countries showed some nations are catching on to the advantages of mobile trade-ins. Singapore wins for "best at selling their old models", with 26% using a mobile trade-in program. The U.K. was second (21%), followed by Japan (20%), Germany (16%) and Canada (13%).

Our research bears this out: Based on information from more than 36 million transactions, HYLA Mobile calculates that on average, less than 20% of consumers opt to sell their phones at the store where they buy a new one. What happens to the other 80% that are traded-in? Some are sold online at sites like eBay. Others are given away to friends or children, but most end up in those sock drawers, losing value until they’re not worth anything.

As we’ve previously detailed in this blog space, retailers can accelerate the trade-in market by making the process easier and enticing. By reaching consumers on their level – using HYLA technology, for instance, to accurately assess the value of their old phones – retailers can put more money into their customers’ pockets and their store coffers with efficiently run trade-in programs.

And as we’ve also mentioned before, HYLA Mobile distributes used mobile devices to the developing world. By selling old phones, consumers are giving people access to digital products they couldn't otherwise afford.

As we, Deloitte and others continue to watch the emerging trade-in market, hopefully all the benefits of selling used phones will motivate more and more consumers and start to turn those statistics around.

So what are you waiting for? Now is the time to get out there and trade-in your mobile device. For more information on mobile device trade in programs, contact us at HYLA Mobile. >>